


Little Devil's Ever After

by CrazyAlien321



Category: Lucius (Video Game)
Genre: Adoption, Family, Jack is a Dad, Lucius learning to live, and be himself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-09-30 20:29:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17230706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyAlien321/pseuds/CrazyAlien321
Summary: Canon-compliant to the end of Lucius 3. Basically my AU on the events after. Lucius makes a deal to bring Jack back, and a Random Act of Kindness also brings back the townsfolk of Winter Hill. Follow the story of young Lucius who is no longer living simply to garter his father's attention, as he discovers his place in the world and himself.





	1. Three Fathers

Lucius sat upon his father’s throne, reveling in his newfound power. He had done it, he had killed his father and usurped his throne. Getting rid of Gabriel had just been a bonus, but it made him feel gratified when he thought about all the grief he had given Lucius and…

 

Lucius and Jack.

 

When the name came to his mind, suddenly his accomplishment felt a little empty. He didn’t know why, but thinking about it gave Lucius a strange feeling in his chest. Figuring it would pass, Lucius made his way down from his throne.

 

Looking at his father’s corpse was only entertaining for so long, he wanted to find something to do. He used his powers to cast his father off the edge and into oblivion, where he would be joining Gabriel. Then he inspected his father’s trident.

 

‘Well, technically it is mine now. I should probably take it with me.’ As he thought this, he worked the trident out of the ground. Although it came away easily, it was horribly heavy. Just as this thought struck him however, the trident began to shrink as if sensing what he was thinking. It shrank down to be the perfect size for Lucius’s small hand, having a perfectly balanced weight.

 

With his new trident, Lucius began the trek to the elevator, leaving his new throne behind. The elevator took him up through the circles of hell before depositing him back in the cemetery. He stepped out of the mausoleum and into the crisp rainy air. The storm had mostly subsided, and the town looked the part of a town that had undergone a massive storm. Water and trees were down everywhere, From where he was standing, Lucius could barely make out the uncovered corpse of Paula Lambert, the storm having caused the recently deposited dirt to shift.

 

Trident in hand, Lucius made his way back to Jack’s house, observing the sites he had been visiting for the last few days. Looking at the town now however, it just looked like an empty shell. As he walked, Lucius began to think that maybe this is what Dante Manor would have looked like had it not been burned down, a cold, dark, empty place with no life left. This thought made Lucius again feel that strange feeling in his chest, but he ignored it and continued on his way.

 

Soon he had arrived at Jack’s house, looking the same as he had left it that morning. He pushed open the door and walked inside, greeted only by the few lights that had been left on. He stood in the center of the first room, looking about. He saw to his right the kitchen with the note from Jack still sitting on the counter, he could see the living room and further from that the door to their detective room. He looked to his left and saw the room he had stayed in, the ball still sitting at its post next to his closet.

 

His eyes then scanned over to Jack’s room…and once again that feeling flared in his chest. This time however it was much more intense, and it only got worse as his eyes lingered on the lonely door. Jack was…gone. He wasn't coming back. He wouldn’t be there in the morning, making eggs for himself and Lucius and drinking his cup of coffee. He would no longer brainstorm with Lucius, help him get into places without looking suspicious, or be there if Lucius had questions.

 

This thought made Lucius feel this intense burning in his chest, and he didn’t know how to make it stop. Let it pass, make it stop, what is happening to me…

 

“Finally you’re here. You kept me waiting for eternity, and trust me when I say I KNOW eternity.”

 

The sudden voice didn’t make Lucius jump, but his head did swivel to the living room rather quickly. The voice had come from a man standing in the archway to the living room. Lucius gave him a once-over and was disgusted by what he saw. The man was tall with shaggy brown hair that came down past his shoulders, held back by a bandana covered in peace signs. He was wearing a white tank top tucked into blue bell-bottom jeans. The most horrid part was his feet, he appeared to be wearing sandals that were barely containing his long, unkept toenails. He had a cigarette in his mouth, but it didn’t look like any Lucius had seen before. The smoke coming from it smelled strange.

 

When Lucius was done taking all of this in, he looked up to realize the man was staring at him as well. “Hey,” the man said, “don’t hate. Appreciate. I’ve waited hundreds of years for the seventies, as if I’m going to let this fashion go with getting in on it.” After stating this, the man took a long drag of his cigarette and blew smoke all over. Lucius resisted the urge to cover his nose.

 

“So hey, you did it! You defeated dear old dad and became the new king of the underworld. I have to say, you’re a bit more conniving than I think any of us thought. Stabbing Gabriel after he saved you and casting him into the abyss? I think Dad even got a chuckle out of that twist.” The man relayed all of this while making broad, sweeping gestures with his hands. Lucius was confused, who was this man? How did he know any of this?

 

After taking another drag from his cigarette, the man spoke again. “I know what you’re thinking, but I didn’t come here to make introductions. My dad is big on the whole ‘let things happen as they are preordained’ but that’s not really my style. I came here today to make a deal with you.”

 

Lucius was sure he kept any facial expression from appearing, but the man chuckled. “You’re probably thinking ‘What? A deal with the devil?’ but that’s exactly what I came here to do. I have something you want, and you have something you can do for me in return.”

 

The man made his way forward towards Lucius, stopping just in front of him. He crouched down until he was eye-to-eye with Lucius and held out his right hand.

 

“Lucius, if you give me your word that you’ll never try to start the Rapture or open a portal between Earth and Hell again, I’ll give you back your precious detective.”

 

Lucius stared at the man, still not quite comprehending what the man was implying. As if sensing his hesitation, the man opened his mouth again to speak. “It’s simple. Jack McGuffin is still in the in-between, Peter hasn’t called his name yet so he hasn’t gone in to the pearly gates just yet. If you make this deal with me I will simply _pluck,”_ here he took his other hand and made pulling upwards motion from his left side, “him from the line and put him back on Earth.” He finished his gesture by taking his left hand and depositing what he “plucked” into his right hand.

 

“Understand? It’s a good deal for us both, I get to avoid coming back to Earth for another couple of thousand years and you get to continue playing house with Detective McGuffin. So, do we have a deal?” With this said, the man once again held out his right hand to Lucius.

 

Lucius took a moment to think. This feeling in his chest, is it because of Jack? Lucius didn’t have feelings, but Jack had made his life easier. He had even saved him a few times. Thinking that the days of staying here with Jack were over made that burning feeling return to his chest. Then his decision was made. He would make the deal and bring back Jack, so this feeling would go away and he could continue enjoying his newfound power.

 

Slowly, since he had not touched someone without the intent to kill them in years, Lucius brought his hand up to meet the man’s. The man smiled, before taking Lucius’s hand and shaking it once, twice, three times. Lucius felt a tingle in his hand and the final shake was had, before the man released his hand and stood.

 

“I’m glad you’re a smart one. Well, that’s all I had to do here. Have a nice life, and remember to keep your promise! Or you’ll face _punishment_.” As he said this, the man’s eyes began to glow. It was quickly put out however, when he smiled and made his way towards the front door. He opened it, but then paused in the doorway and looked back at Lucius.

 

“And since you’ve been such a good sport, I’ll even throw in a little something extra. I don’t care what you do with your bonus, **_For the Lord Knows Those Who are his_**.” He smirked as he said this, making eye contact one last time with Lucius before exiting and shutting the door behind him.

 

Lucius stared at the door after he left, truly wondering what that visit was all about. He didn't have much time to think about it however, as suddenly there was a crashing sound behind him.

 

He turned swiftly, finding the source of the noise on the floor a few feet away from him. It was Jack McGuffin, just as he had last seen him, sitting on the floor. Jack looked wildly around, before zeroing in on Lucius. His mouth gaped several times before shutting, apparently too lost to find words. He looked around a few more times before slowly working his way to standing. After dusting himself off, he once again looked to Lucius and began speaking.

 

“What, I, how, Lucius?” He stumbled through his words for a few more seconds before he decided on what to say. “Lucius? How…how is this happening? Am I…I thought I was dead. Lucifer killed me…at the church and then I…” Here he dropped off, staring at the floor for a few moments before looking back to Lucius.

 

“Is this Hell? Am I dead?” He asked, looking straight into Lucius’s eyes.

 

Lucius didn’t make any response, and the detective continued staring, apparently waiting for some form of answer. After a moment of silence, the detective slowly shook his head, a small smile growing on his face.

 

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t be able to call myself a detective if I couldn't figure that out myself. If this is Hell, it sure is different from what I had imagined. Where is—“

 

At this Jack is cut off by the sound of two loud knocks at the door. Both turn to peer at the door, before looking back to each other. It was clear they were thinking the same thing, Lucius had killed all of the residents of Winter Hill, so who could possibly be knocking at the door? Lucius briefly thought it might be the man from earlier, but dismissed that thought as being unlikely.

 

They continued not moving for a few moments, before the detective made a motion with his hand for Lucius to stay put. Jack moved to the door slowly, careful not to make any noise. He looked through the peephole and froze for a moment. Lucius was beginning to really wonder who it might be when Jack turned to him with a confused look. He shrugged his shoulders, before motioning that he was going to open the door.

 

As the door came open, Lucius was in that moment shocked but also experiencing a small ‘ah-ha’ moment. For beyond that door stood the entire town of Winter Hill, at the front of the procession was Preacher Cooper, followed by Lieutenant Kimble and Mr. Williams. Behind them were Judge Jackson and Mr. Ferguson, the Freemans and Doctor Green. Lucius could spot the Mayor and Ms. Green standing nearby Mr. Mason and the Morgan children. At the back lingering were Ceefor and Mr. Morgan.

 

“Thank goodness you two are alright!” The Pastor exclaimed, “We were so worried when we didn’t see you or the boy at the church when the worst of the storm started. Are you alright?”

 

Jack was stunned for a moment longer, before catching on that he was being spoken to.

 

“Uh, um, yeah! We, uh, we didn’t get the chance to head down there before the storm started so we just, just stayed here.” The detective stumbled through most of his explanation, but it seemed to appease the crowd.

 

Kimble spoke up, “That was pretty dangerous Jack, you could've gotten both of you killed. But either way, we’re all glad to see you two are alright.” With that being said, he turned around and motioned for the crowd to listen to him.

 

“Now everyone return to your homes and report any damage to me. Hopefully nothing around here got to banged up, but either way be careful when heading back. If you have any problems, call me up at the station and I’ll see what I can do.”

 

After the Lieutenant’s announcement, the crowd began to disperse back where they came from. Mrs. Williams had a few words with Jack before leaving with her husband and kids, the rest simply made their way without saying anything. Kimble watched as everyone left, making sure everyone was gone before making his way up the step the where Jack stood.

 

“Hey listen, I know you’ve been wanting to keep this kind of hush-hush but I know why you brought the kid here. I also figured out why there were conflicting documents between you and the hospital.” As he said this, Lucius could see Jack tense slightly.

 

Jack took a moment before saying, “ O-oh, and what did you find out?”

 

Kimble stared hard at Jack before his mouth morphed into something that could be called a smirk.

 

“Yeah, you thought you could pull one over on me. Even had the kid in on it, huh?” Kimble chuckled lowly.

 

Both Lucius and Jack made eye contact before turning their attention back to the Lieutenant, both ready for anything.

 

“You didn’t want anyone to know about the adoption, did you? Were you planning on having a special party when the papers came in? In that case, sorry for ruining your surprise but the papers came to the station this morning and I saw them.” Kimble said with a slight guilty motion of scratching the back of his neck.

 

Lucius and Jack took a moment with that piece of information. What? What was Kimble talking about? Jack had never filed to adopt Lucius, their entire situation was just an alibi to start the Rapture!

 

Kimble kept that smirk on his face while he pulled a large envelope from inside his jacket. “Sorry if they’re a little damp, I thought I was going to see you at the church so I brought them with me.” With that, he pulled open the envelope and handed it to Jack.

 

“Here, now it’s official! I know this is probably really special for the two of you, so I’ll leave. But hey, congrats man! And congrats to you too, kid.” Kimble made a small wave to Lucius before heading down the steps and out of the yard. Lucius and Jack both watched him walk away, too stunned for anything but silence. After the Lieutenant was out of sight, Jack stepped back from the doorway and pulled the door closed with the hand that wasn’t holding the papers Kimble had handed him.

 

For a few moments they didn't do anything, Jack staring down at the documents and Lucius staring at Jack.

 

Slowly, Jack’s eyes moved from the papers in his hands to Lucius’s eyes. He took a moment to just stare before sighing, and scrubbing his face with a hand.

 

“I have no idea what’s going on, or what the hell _this,”_ he emphasized his words by waving the papers around, “is but apparently you’re my adopted son now.”

 

Lucius gave Jack a blank stare while his mind reeled. What, now he had **_three fathers?_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed! The second chapter is going to come out super soon since I've already written it in my head! :)


	2. Is it a Pitchfork or a Trident?

Lucius awoke on the morning of November 1st as he always did, by rising and bending at the hips before turning, planting his feet on the ground, and opening his eyes. It was the closest thing to a “habit” that Lucius had, but it provided him with a sense of security.

 

He could sense that the hour was still early enough that the detective wouldn’t come to wake him up yet, so he had a moment to think. He still didn’t quite understand the events that had led to him continuing his life as if his involvement with the Rapture had never happened. He was beginning to have an idea of who the mysterious man might have been, but if his suspicions were correct, why would he come and make a deal with Lucius? Why would he reset the town as if the only thing that had occurred the night of October 31st was a harsh storm? Lucius couldn’t wrap his head around it.

 

Distantly he could hear the sounds of the stove being used, guessing that Jack had once again made them breakfast. Lucius moved from his bed and towards the door still in the pajamas Jack had let him wear. He opened it and made his way to the kitchen, where Jack had just finished plating their breakfast.

 

He looked up at Lucius when he noticed him, offering a low “good morning” before taking Lucius’s plate of eggs and his own mug of coffee to the table. He set the plate in front of one of the empty chairs, before sitting down and looking to Lucius once again.

 

Lucius took the hint and sat down, beginning to eat his breakfast with his hands as soon as he was sat. Jack watched him for a moment, before moving his gaze down to a random spot on the table. He zoned out while sipping his coffee, Lucius paid him no mind and continued eating. He snapped out of it once Lucius was finished, huffing before standing and collecting Lucius’s plate and the un-used fork sitting beside it. Lucius watched as he took them to the sink and washed them briefly. After he was done, he made to walk back to the table but halted before taking a step. He made eye contact with Lucius for only a second before heading backwards to the fridge, opening it, and retrieving a milk bottle.

 

He carried the milk to the table, where he sat it in front of Lucius and took up his seat once again. Lucius would never let anyone know, but during his stay with Jack he had discovered he greatly enjoyed drinking milk. Lucius waited a moment before reaching for the container, not wanting Jack to catch on to his newfound interest, he brought the milk bottle to himself and began drinking from it.

 

Jack just watched and then laughed lowly before taking a sip out of his mug. They sat in silence for a few seconds, each enjoying of their drinks.

 

After taking a long swig out of his coffee, Jack sat back and looked to Lucius once again. He seemed to be thinking of what to say. Lucius just continued taking sips from his milk container, but maintained eye contact with the detective.

 

“Listen kid, I know you don’t talk and I’m fine with that. You don’t have to talk, but I need some way for you to answer a few questions I have about all the events that happened yesterday. I just have to have something to go off of for our alibi and what our mission is now.”

 

Lucius stared blankly over the rim of his milk bottle. Whatever the detective was expecting, Lucius wasn’t going to give it. He didn’t speak, end of story. Jack seemed to sense what he was thinking, because he leaned forward to sigh into his hands, scrubbing them over his eyes for a moment before looking back to Lucius.

 

“We just have to have some way of communicating or I’ll have no idea what to do. Lucius, if you killed Lucifer then that means that our plans have been thrown way off track. Not that that’s bad, but I don’t know what your thinking. And then there’s the whole thing with the town being brought back from the dead, along with me. Who did that? Was it you?” Jack stared at Lucius, obviously expecting some kind of response. He hung his head when he received none after waiting.

 

“Ugh—this is just so…wait a second.” The detective looked up with an idea written on his face, before standing and rushing to one of the drawers nearby. From it he removed a notepad, and after a little digging around emerge a pen. He returned to the table, sitting down and placing the notepad and pen in front of Lucius.

 

“I’ve got it! With this, you don’t have to talk. You just write down the answers, and I can read them. This works, right?” Jack had a small smile on his face as he said this, and waited expectantly for any kind of reaction from Lucius. The boy simply stared blankly back and continued sipping from his milk.

 

“Well I know you know how to read and write, so this is our only solution. Now, uh, let me think. Who brought us all back?” The detective waited for Lucius to act. Lucius sat and stared back. After a staring match, Jack sighed and scratched his head. “Okay, so you don’t want to write. Let’s change it up then, I’ll only ask yes or no questions. All you have to do is write ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ hell you could even just put down a ‘Y’ or an ’N,’ I don’t care.”

 

Jack pushed the pad and pen closer to Lucius, “Alright, did you kill Lucifer?”

 

Lucius continued staring, not moving an inch except to tilt the milk bottle to his lips. There was a tension in the air that was only broken when Jack let out a loud sigh and put his head in his hands. For several moments all he did was rub at his eyes and sigh, before finally looking back up to Lucius. His eyes looked tired and pleading when he said “Please Lucius, I need to know these things. I’m trying to put the pieces together here, so please just meet me halfway.”

 

Lucius put his milk bottle down on the table and stared at the detective. After several seconds, his gaze moved to the pencil. Slowly, it began to lift off the table. It floated over to the notepad, before writing a small ‘y’ on one of the lines.

 

Jack stared a moment before breathing a sigh. His voice sounded less tired and his eyes were grateful when he muttered a “thanks.” He took a second to collect himself before asking his next question.

 

“Did the Rapture not happen? I couldn’t find the scroll anywhere.” Again the pen floated up and wrote on the notepad a small ‘y.’

 

“What happened to Gabriel—is he dead?” Lucius felt the tugging in his face that he had felt when first sitting on his new throne. The detective appeared taken aback for a moment, before chuckling lowly into his hand. “Ahh, and I’m guessing it was you that killed him then? I hated that guy too, he was a prick. Good riddance, I say.” Jack appeared much less uptight and gloomy than he had moments before. Lucius guessed he could account that to the thought of Gabriel getting what was coming to him.

 

“So then, who brought the townspeople back? Was it you?” This time a small ’n’ was written.

 

“Hmm, that’s a tough one then. I guess my next question is, uh, did you bring me ba—“ Jack was interrupted by a sudden banging at the door. Jack quickly left the table to see who it was, Lucius deciding to follow as his milk was done. At the door was Mr. Williams, who quickly exchanged greetings with Jack.

 

He and the detective began having an apparently usual conversation. Lucius was just about to leave to get dressed when Mr. Williams noticed him standing in the archway to the kitchen.

 

“Oh I almost forgot about the kid! Hey there Lucius, this old lug treating you right?” He said this with a small laugh, which wasn’t returned by Lucius. Undeterred, he continued, “I saw you with that cool pitchfork looking thing the other day. Is that part of your Halloween costume?” When he received no reaction from Lucius, he looked to Jack.

 

“Oh, um, yeah it is. We stopped by a general store on our way back from the hospital and the kid was eyeballing it, so I got it for him.” Jack quickly explained.

 

“Well ain’t that nice. I was actually coming up here to let you know that the Halloween party’s still on. Most folks were bummed that the storm pretty much ate up Halloween, so we’re having it tonight, same time, same place. You and Lucius should come, it’s gonna be a blast. We got tons of candy for the kiddos and booze for everyone else.” Mr. Williams let out a laugh at this, joined in by Jack.

 

Lucius had had enough of this conversation, so he simply walked into his room and shut the door. He could hear the detective and Mr. Williams continuing to talk, but he ignored them in favor of changing into his shirt and vest. When he was dressed, he took a moment to look about his room.

 

His trident was resting against his nightstand, shining in the dim light from his lamp. He walked to it, and picked it up. He then walked back to his dresser, where a small mirror hung. In it he could see himself, dressed in his usual formal attire with his trident looking dark and threatening next to him. Although he hadn’t liked the way Mr. Williams talked, he did agree that his trident was “cool.”

 

It was as he was looking at himself in the mirror that he made his decision. He would go to the Halloween party, if only to find any clues as to why they were all brought back. And if he got to show off his trident while doing so, then so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I already have the next chapter written in my head, so I should be updating soon!


	3. The Vision of Saint Peter

As Lucius and Jack were coming upon the gas station, Lucius began to question his decision to come. Jack had seemed surprised when he had found Lucius in his white costume with his trident. He had stuttered his way through grabbing his coat before they were out the door and headed for the party.

 

It looked like the whole town was there, much like the Green’s house party when Lucius had first arrived. Little tables were set up with a range of games for people to play on them. Most of the adults were standing around the road talking, while a few of the outcasts, namely Ceefor and Larry, were standing off to the side. The children were playing some game off to the left of the gas station.

 

Jack and Lucius walked up to the group of chatting adults, several of them greeting Jack as they approached.

 

“Well hello there young man. I’m so glad you’re here. And your costume…so cute!” Mr. Freeman was kneeling down into Lucius’s space as he said this. Lucius ignored him, but he noticed Jack flinched at Freeman’s actions. He suddenly jerked forward and pulled Lucius towards himself by the shoulders, only after having done so did he realize how suspicious that made his movements. Mr. Freeman leaned back up to standing normally, giving Jack a confused gaze.

 

“Uh, sorry about that Gary. It’s just, the kid was really excited about getting to play and eat candy. So he can’t get roped into a conversation right now, he’s got places to be.” Jack stumbled, but ultimately gave an adequate excuse. At least, it was enough to fool Mr. Freeman.

 

“Oh that’s all right. Go and have a ton of candy, and if my boys get too rough while playing you let me know!” Freeman gave that eerie smile of his, but once again Lucius ignored him. He was bored of this conversation and of the creepy feeling he was getting from Mr. Freeman. He shook off Jack’s hands still on his shoulders and made his way towards the tables.

 

He was received by a warm greeting from Larry Ferguson and a short snort of acknowledgement from Ceefor. Looking more closely at the tables, the games seemed to be at varying stages of play. As if a group of people had started playing, but lost interest before being able to finish any one game. Suddenly, a voice came from behind Lucius.

 

“My brother and the others started playing as soon as we got here. They kept getting bored and leaving them though, and Derek wouldn’t even let me play any.” Lucius turned to find Samantha Morgan standing in a white set of pajamas that included a hood. Attached to the hood were two little horns, in what Lucius could only assume was an attempt at making Samantha look like a sheep. Lucius regarded her for a moment but didn’t make any move to reply. Samantha continued on, undeterred.

 

“If you want, you and me could play some of the games. We could start them over, it’s not like my brother and his friends are going to ever finish them.” As she said this, Samantha’s face lit up with a smile as she gestured to one of the nearby tables. Without waiting for a response, she walked to the one closest to where they were standing and began moving things around. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

 

“What’ll be fun? Oh, look who it is, The death kid.” The sudden voice came from Derek Morgan as he made his way towards Lucius and Samantha, with the three Freeman boys in tow. The other boys started making little remarks targeted towards Lucius, most of the consisting of the ‘death kid.’

 

The Freeman boys stopped their snide comments when Derek spoke again. “You’re so weird, didn’t you know you’re supposed to wear pajamas? You’re wearing a stupid costume, you moron! I bet you don’t even—“ Derek cut himself short on his abusive tirade when he seemed to notice Lucius’s trident. He took a moment to just gape at it, before finally coming back to himself. When he spoke, there was a hesitant awe in his voice.

 

“Woah that’s, that’s a cool pitchfork thing you have. Where did you even get that? I’ve never seen anything like it before, not even in the catalogs mom gets sometimes.” He apparently didn’t expect any kind of answer, because he continued. “Can I hold it?”

 

Derek’s hand already began moving towards Lucius’s trident. Lucius didn’t move, but as Derek’s hand came just a few inches away from the trident Lucius could feel some of his power welling up. Suddenly a small bolt of electricity shot out from the trident’s edge and zapped Derek’s hand. The boy leapt back with a yelp, cradling his hand.

 

“Yowch! What the hell was that?! That thing freaking shocked me!” Derek was nursing his hand while staring angrily over at Lucius. Lucius just stared back, but did feel a small sense of satisfaction at having given Derek what was coming to him. The Freeman boys obviously had no idea how to react, the boy in the green sweater vest going to try to take a look at Derek’s hand only to be roughly pushed away.

 

“Whatever. That stupid fork thing is just perfect for a death kid. Because’s that’s what you are, a stupid, weirdo death kid! Come on guys, let’s leave the weirdos so we don’t catch their cooties.” With that said, Derek whipped around and made his way back to the other side of the gas station parking lot. The Freeman boys followed not a second after, the one who had been shoved only taking a moment to recover before he joined his brothers.

 

Samantha and Lucius watched them leave, Samantha frowning in thought while Lucius contemplated just killing Derek right here, right now. But that would probably not help in his search to find why the mysterious man had brought everyone back, so he didn’t. His only solace was remembering the battered, broken body of Derek when he fell to his death from his tree house.

 

Samantha began speaking to Lucius again, but he ignored her. He was beginning to feel bored of the entire occasion, and wished to leave. He looked to where the adults were still chatting beside the road, but could not find Jack among them. After scanning the parking lot with his eyes, he found Jack was nowhere.This gave him pause. Would Jack have left without him? When he thought about it however, he seriously doubted that he would.

 

Lucius decided to go looking for Jack, so he set off leaving Samantha behind with her games. As he was wondering closer to the gas station, he thought he could hear voices. They appeared to be coming from inside, so Lucius made his way in. The front store area was empty, so Lucius went through the door and around the corner. He peeked around, only to find who he was looking for.

 

Jack was standing in the living room, speaking with Mrs. Green. It was obvious that they were trying to speak privately, but Lucius could hear everything as he was so close. Mrs. Green appeared emotional, as she was weeping quietly.

 

“I just can’t believe it Jack, after all these years, how could he do this to me?” She was wiping her tears messily with the ends of her sleeves.

 

“Hold on Amanda, just tell me what happened. From the beginning.” The detective was apparently just as confused as Lucius. Mrs. Green held her head in her hands for a moment before looking up and speaking.

 

“It’s awful Jack, I came home early today to make him dinner. When I got there, I saw his car in the drive so I knew he was home. But he wouldn’t answer me when I called out to him to let him know I was home. I thought that was strange, and it got even stranger when I found our bedroom door closed. We always leave it open, so this was a first. And then when I opened the door, I find him in bed with another woman! He was sleeping with Cheryl Williams! I was so shaken that I just ran out of the house and came straight here.”

 

Jack seemed stunned at what she had just relayed to him. Lucius was not surprised, he had seen how Dr. Green had acted that day at the diner. It was only a matter of time before he got caught. Mrs. Green had been spared ever finding out when Lucius had killed him. Now that they were back, it made sense that he got busted for cheating on his wife.

 

While Lucius wasn’t paying attention due to his reverie, Jack had somehow gotten Mrs. Green calmed down. Lucius turned his attention back to their conversation once again.

 

“It’ll be alright Amanda, we’ll take care of this. The divorce might take a while to become official, but think on the bright side, you don’t have any kids to worry about. In the meantime, you shouldn’t go back to that house. Are there any relatives nearby you can stay with during the proceedings?” Jack was looking to Mrs. Green expectantly.

 

“No, I don’t. My family moved away after I turned 18, my closest relative is three states away. I know I can’t stay at my house, but there’s no one I can stay with, Oh, what am I going to do…” Mrs. Green was holding her head in her hands again. Jack made a noise, when suddenly Mrs. Green’s head shot upwards.

 

“I have an idea Jack! I know you just started living with Lucius, but would it be alright for me to stay with you two? Just until I get the divorce and figure out my living situation. I don’t get paid much, but whatever I have I can give to you as rent.”

 

Jack appeared taken aback at first, then seemed more hesitant near the end of Mrs. Green’s request. He seemed to think about it hard, before speaking.

 

“I guess it couldn’t hurt. It’s not like me and the kid are taking up the whole place. But I couldn’t let you pay rent, not after all the favors you’ve done for me in the past.” Mrs. Green appeared elated, smiling brightly.

 

Jack smiled back, then stopped when Mrs. Green held up her arms. She sheepishly asked, “Is it alright if we hug? I just—“ but before she could finish Jack was already pulling her into a tight embrace.

 

Lucius watched as they hugged for several seconds, hearing a few sniffles coming from Mrs. Green. As they began pulling away, Lucius decided to take his leave. He went out from underneath the gas station awning and looked up at the night sky.

 

So they would be having a new roommate. Wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry it took so long on this chapter, I was researching all about the game and the different deaths and cut scenes. I really wanted this to be as close to what would be canon as possible. Also, my vision of future chapters is the beginnings of a relationship between Jack and Amanda Green, who also becomes a sort of mother figure for Lucius. If you guys like or dislike that, please let me know in a comment!
> 
> Thanks again and have a great day!


	4. Roommates

Lucius awoke to the now-familiar sound of breakfast being made and the smell of coffee. He did his routine before rising and just standing before his bed a moment to collect his thoughts.

 

The night before at the Halloween party, Jack had found Lucius under the gas station awning and told him they were leaving. A red-faced Mrs. Green had followed, and the three had made the trek home mostly in silence. Not much was uttered until the reached the house, opening the door and entering the house apparently breaking the spell of silence cast over their little group.

 

Jack turned to Mrs. Green, “So Amanda you can have my bed. I’ll take the couch. The bathroom’s right through the door to the right of my room, feel free to use anything.”

 

“No Jack I couldn’t take your bed, you’re letting me stay here. I’ll take the couch, you sleep in your own bed,” Mrs. Green hurried to say. “No way,” Jack replied, “I’m not gonna make you sleep on the couch, you’re my guest.” Jack didn’t wait for a reply, going into his room and out of sight.

 

Lucius could hear Jack rummaging around in his room, presumably getting ready for his stay on the couch. When it was just he and Mrs. Green alone, Mrs. Green breathed a heavy sigh. Afterwards, she turned to Lucius and kneeled down to be eye-to-eye with him.

 

“Lucius I’m sorry for only telling you this now, I know it’s really sudden. But I’m going to be staying here for a little while. Don’t worry, nothing is going to change other than me being here sometimes and possibly joining in on meals. Is it okay that I stay here with you two?” Amanda said all of this while making eye contact with the boy. Lucius was struck, he hadn't imagined that his opinion would matter at all in this. Sure, he lived here too, but it was Jack’s house. He could have whoever over and it would not be Lucius’s concern.

 

Amanda spoke again while he was in thought, “I know you don’t speak, and I won’t expect you too. I just want you to know that your opinion matters to me, and that I’m not here to mess up anything and if I ever overstep or do something you don’t like or I upset you, could you please find some way to let me know?”

 

Lucius was again taken aback by her words. What was she doing? She was acting like the maids at the manor, but a bit different. She wanted to know if she upset him? Lucius couldn’t name this weird feeling, and didn’t know what Mrs. Green expected from him. He continued to stare back at her and she stared at him. She seemed satisfied after a moment, saying “Thank you Lucius. I just wanted you to know that.” She then stood just as Jack came out of his room with a blanket and pillow.

 

Mrs. Green turned to Jack, “Thank you again Jack. This is really kind of you.” Jack looked over to the two before continuing on to the living room.

 

“Don’t worry about it Amanda, you would’ve done the same for me. As it is, if you could check and see if there’s anything you need and tell me I’ll grab it tomorrow.” He began making a small bed for himself on the couch, as Mrs. Green hummed in acknowledgement and made her way into Jack’s bedroom.

 

Lucius was at a loss, he for once didn’t know what to do with himself. Usually when he and Jack returned at night after visiting the Amusement Park, Jack would tell him good night and he would go to bed. He didn’t realize how used to that routine he was until Jack was several feet away, making his couch-bed and a random person was running around in Jack’s room.

 

He didn’t have to wonder what to do for long however, as Jack made his way back to the foyer just as Mrs. Green came out of his room. “I saw the pajamas you set out for me, thanks Jack. I have everything I need for tonight, I’ll see about getting some stuff from my house tomorrow.” Mrs. Green said this with a slight frown at the mention of her home.

 

“That’s great. Well it’s pretty late, I’m heading to sleep. Goodnight, Amanda.” Jack turned his head towards Lucius, “Night, kid. Sleep well.”

 

Amanda also bid the detective good night, before also turning to Lucius. “Good night Lucius, get some good sleep! We have school first thing tomorrow.” As she said this, Mrs. Green gave Lucius a bright smile. Lucius didn’t respond, staring as Jack and Mrs. Green both headed towards their respective sleeping places. He too turned towards his room and closed the door.

 

That’s how he ended up here, waking up to a familiar morning with trepidation. He didn’t know they were going to make this work, trying to figure out what to do now while also having an unknowing person around. He supposed if it came down to it, he could kill Mrs. Green. But for now, it would be for the best to see how things ended up.

 

With that in mind, Lucius walked to the door of his room and opened it. Past it was a familiar sight, the detective was sipping this coffee and reading the newspaper while a plate of eggs sat on the counter in front of him. He looked to Lucius when he heard the door opening, greeting him with a “good morning” before taking the plate, his coffee, and his newspaper to the table. Lucius followed, taking his seat and digging into his eggs.

 

“So Amanda went back to her place to grab a few things. I figured that since I found you close to the station last night, you heard most of what we said. She’s staying with us until she can get her own place, her husband was um, he was doing bad things that she didn’t know about. I know it might make it a little harder since she doesn’t know, but we can—“ before Jack could finish his sentence, Mrs. Green came through the front door. She had an overnight bag over her shoulder, and her eyes were very red and swollen. Jack quickly got up and rushed to her as she closed the door behind herself. They shared a hushed conversation in the entryway, with several sniffles coming from Mrs. Green.

 

Lucius continued sitting at the table, having finished his eggs. When they were done talking, Mrs. Green went towards the bathroom, out of sight of Lucius after a moment. Jack scrubbed his hands over his face before turning back and heading towards the table. He grabbed a milk out of the fridge before coming to sit in front of Lucius again, setting the milk in place for Lucius to drink.

 

Lucius began drinking his milk as the detective continued drinking from his coffee. They sat in silence while listening to the sounds of Mrs. Green banging around in the bathroom. After several moments, the door to the bathroom could be heard opening and some sounds of Mrs. Green shuffling around the bedroom/bathroom area. When she finally appeared around the corner, she was no longer wearing the same clothes as last night and her face looked much less puffy.

 

“Good morning Lucius! I hope you’re excited for your first day of school here! It will probably be a lot different than what you’re used to, so let’s work together to get you adjusted to public school. I’ll just have a quick cup and then we can walk together to the school.” As she spoke, Mrs. Green poured herself a cup of coffee. When she was done speaking, she took the mug of coffee and began drinking it quickly, gulping down the whole thing in a number of seconds. She then poured herself another, this time leaning against the counter and staring at the two at the table.

 

“Yeah, I bet homeschooling at the manor will be a lot different than having Amanda teach you. By the way, did you notice anything I need to get you?” Jack spoke as he finished his coffee and stood to take it to the sink. They engaged in a conversation that Lucius wasn't interested in, and since he had finished his milk he got out of his chair and walked back to his room. He changed into his normal dress shirt and vest with dress pants, slipping on his shoes and he heard Mrs. Green and Jack come towards the entryway.

 

Jack already had his jacket and hat on when Lucius approached. “Well, I’m heading out. You two have a nice day. Call me if you need anything, I’ll most likely be up at the station doing paperwork all day.” Amanda nodded and with that, Jack was out the door and heading out of the yard.

 

Mrs. Green turned to Lucius, saying “One moment” before putting her own jacket on. Once she was ready, they both headed out the door and towards the road.

 

There was silence until they began down the street, Mrs. Green waving a hello at Mrs. Freeman. As they made their way towards the school, Mrs. Green began speaking.

 

“I was a lot like you when I was your age, Lucius. I rarely spoke and really kept to myself, reading my books instead of playing with the other kids. So I get why you don’t want to talk, and I want you to know that I will never force you to speak, I only want you to speak when you want to, on your terms.” She said this while smiling down at Lucius, walking slowly.

 

“When I was up at the school the other day studying, I found these little chalkboards we used to use for free time. I figured it would be hard to have you answer questions during class, so if we use these then you won’t have to speak, and I’ll still be able to see your progress in the class. It’ll also help the other kids to stop shouting out the answers, so I think it’s a win-win.” They were nearing the steps up to the school, and Lucius was beginning to feel a strange feeling in his chest at her words. He quickly squashed the feeling however, she was just like the maids at the manor and was only being nice to him because she felt she had to. What other reason would there be for her to act this way with him?

 

As they climbed the steps and neared the door, Mrs. Green stopped and turned to Lucius. “I really look forward to having you in class. Let’s get along, alright, Lucius?” Mrs. Green said this with a big smile at Lucius before unlocking the door and heading inside.

 

Lucius stood for a moment at the entrance, thinking. The feeling was again blooming in him. But he decided it was stupid for him to think on it, he just had to act normal for the sake of this human until he figured out what to do. Besides, if things turned out badly he could just have her executed the same way his last teacher was…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! And for the patience! This chapter was written in my head a while ago, but it was hard to put down. I hope you enjoyed! Comments are greatly appreciated! Also I updated the previous chapters so there should be no more spelling errors.
> 
> Another thing, this fic currently doesn't have any ships in it but my future plans mostly involve Jack and Amanda getting together. Let me know how you guys feel about this!


	5. An Eye for An Eye

Lucius was beginning to settle into a routine, as terrible as that sounded. He had made a few trips to hell in the evenings when both Jack and Amanda were asleep, but so far nothing had really changed. Hell had an intricate system set in place that required no real effort on Lucius’s part. Souls paid for their sins just as they had when his father was running the show, as if his death had never happened. Lucius supposed this was a good thing, he found the idea of running hell tedious and would rather spend his time doing what he wanted.

 

And he found that what he wanted to do was live with Jack and Amanda and go to school. The small board system introduced by Amanda had been a big hit with the other children, each of them liking to add their personal touches to their boards. Lucius was able to answer the questions without having to speak, all thanks to Amanda. Lucius hadn’t even realized he had stopped referring to her as ‘Mrs. Green’ in his head. Thinking about it gave Lucius that strange feeling in his chest, but even that he was getting used to.

 

Although Lucius was getting used to his new life, he still didn’t associate with the other children. Samantha Morgan kept speaking to him even though he never appeared to be listening. The other boys stuck together around Derek, but that was to be expected. The taunting didn’t stop, but the boys didn't try anything during class when Amanda was present.

 

One day after arriving at school. Lucius found his board missing from his desk. It didn’t even take a second before his eyes cut over to Derek Morgan, who was grinning slyly at him. Two of the Freeman boys were also leering at him, the one in the green sweater was missing however. Lucius didn’t pay this much mind, he was busy planning his next move.

 

It would’ve been so easy to incinerate them right there, right then. Just a snap of his fingers and he would be listening to their screams. But just as quickly as the thought came to him, a vision of Amanda’s horrified face stopped him from continuing that line of thought. He was shocked for a moment, when had he become wary of other people’s feelings? He was the Prince of hell, the devil. But he couldn’t hurt Amanda, not when she had done so many things for him. Wait, why did he care?

 

Lucius’s head began to spin. Had he really sunk this low? What was happening to him? Lucius felt himself begin to heat up. He needed to get out of here. No, he HAD to get out of here. Before he did something he’d regret, before he —

 

Suddenly, a board appeared on his desk. Lucius’s eyes trailed up the arm holding it, it was the green sweater Freeman boy. He didn’t even look at Lucius, he just placed his board on Lucius’s desk and went back to his seat.

 

Before Lucius could react, Amanda clapped her hands to get the attention of the students.

 

“Alright class, today we will —“ she was cut off by the green sweater boy raising his hand. She motioned for him to speak.

 

“Mrs. Green, I can’t find my board. Is there another one I can use?” Amanda quickly grabbed another from behind her desk, and gave it to the boy. Lucius was stunned, what had just happened? He peered over at the boy, but he just went about his work on his new board. Lucius could see Derek and the other Freeman boys glaring daggers at him, but the boy just continued as if nothing had happened.

 

Lucius was confused. Why had he done that? Surely now he would get harassed by Derek and his brothers for ruining their prank, so what drove him to do it? Lucius simply couldn’t figure it out, so he went about the rest of the school day in a daze.

 

After the rest of the kids left, Lucius went up to Amanda’s desk. He had taken to helping her with small tasks after school, and she rewarded him with candy sometimes. Today he was to take out the trash to the dumpsters nearby, which he set out to do.

 

Just as he was passing by the back of the school building, he saw three figures standing behind it. Lucius at first decided it wasn’t worth his interest, until he heard voices.

 

“You stupid idiot! Why did you do that? We were just having a little fun with the Death Kid!” It sounded like one of the Freeman boys, and was followed by a second “Yeah!” from another.

 

“You guys need to stop doing that, we’re not little kids anymore! Besides, it was a stupid prank anyway.” This voice sounded like it belonged to the green sweater-wearing Freeman boy.

 

“Shut up! You act like you’re so grown up, but we’re all the same age! This is why dad doesn't give you candy or games whenever he has sleepovers with you, you’re so whiny and a total fuddy-duddy!” Lucius at this point moved closer to the building, careful not to be seen.

 

“I just don’t think we should do it anymore, is all! Dad does things sometimes that are just…anyway I think we should tell mom. Why would he tell us we can’t tell her? You remember that one time how we kept that rotten egg a secret and mom got so mad? What if she gets super mad like that if we don’t tell her about dad’s sleepovers?” The green Freeman boy was keeping his voice quieter this time, making Lucius thankful that he had moved to be closer to their conversation.

 

“Dad said we can’t and that means we can’t! Besides, he gives us stuff afterwards. You’re such a killjoy!” After saying this, both brothers dissolved into chanting “killjoy” before apparently running off.

 

Lucius couldn’t see, but he heard the brother that was left behind sigh before trudging after his siblings. It took a moment for Lucius to process what was going on, but in that moment he figured out how to repay the boy for his aid this morning.

 

It just required a bit of time.

 

Lucius, with mind set, went to dispose of the trash. He needed to get back home to start his plan, and so he quickly helped Amanda finish her duties and they headed back.

 

That night, Amanda decided to cook spaghetti. Lucius munched on his noodles, only vaguely listening to the conversation at the dinner table. In his mind, he was putting together his plan of action.

 

That night, Lucius made his way to the Freeman house. When he checked the mailbox, of course the incriminating letters were gone. That threw a small wrinkle in his plan, but he was sure he could still find it if he searched the house.

 

He didn't have to use his powers to get in, the door was already unlocked. Foolish, but to his advantage. He crept up the stairs quietly and made his was to Mr. Freeman’s study. The door creaked slightly while opening, causing Lucius to freeze in place. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have heard it. He walked into the room quietly and went for the desk. Although looking through the drawers revealed nothing but extra paper and pens. Lucius was about to go search somewhere else when he heard a small shuffling noise behind the desk whenever he shut the biggest drawer.

 

Peering behind the desk, he saw a small sliver of space between the wall and the backing of the desk. Reaching his small hands inside, he pulled out exactly what he was looking for. The letters! With his success in mind, he turned towards the door to the study.

 

And there stood Mr. Freeman, wearing his pajamas with a shocked look on his face. They stood there staring at each other for a moment, both too stunned to react. Eventually Mr. Freeman’s face deteriorated into a sick smile, coming closer to Lucius.

 

“Well well, look who we have here. Breaking into someone else’s home AND going through their things? Very naughty young man, I’ll have to tell your parents about this.” As he said this, he stopped in front of Lucius and crouched into his face.

 

“Or we could make a deal. How about it, boy? You give me back what’s mine and help me with something, and I won’t have to tell on you?” Lucius was at this point wanting to pull back in revulsion, the man’s hideous grin to close for his liking.

 

Before Mr. Freeman could say anymore, Lucius whipped his hand up and smashed it into Mr. Freeman’s face. Since the man was crouching, he fell backwards in a heap. He looked up when he got over the shock of his new position, his smile turning into a horrible angry look.

 

He got up and reached for Lucius, hand in the shape of a fist, when Lucius let his power free. The man blew backwards against the wall, held there by Lucius’s mind. He instantly started gasping as Lucius began to choke him, letting his eyes go black and his flames go wild. The thought crossed his mind to kill him right there, how easy it would be.

 

But then the green sweater Freeman boy crossed his mind. And he retracted his power, letting a gasping Mr. Freeman fall to the ground.

 

Lucius removed the man’s memory and put him back to sleep. Lucius returned to his bed, letters safely tucked under his pillow.

 

First thing the next morning, Lucius accompanied Jack to work. It was a Saturday, so he needn’t worry about missing school. Jack was surprised when Lucius was right beside him as he went out the door, but figured out what was happening when they got to the station and Lucius handed him the letters.

 

After that it was like clockwork, Jack showed the letters to Kimble, together they went and searched the house. Lucius found the evidence and showed it to Jack, who arrested Mr. Freeman.

 

That night when Lucius broke into the police station, he felt his power rise up again. This time, Mr. Freeman was getting what was coming to him.

 

As Mr. Freeman struggled with the noose around his neck, Lucius felt that he had repaid the Freeman boy. In his own way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed, and continued to enjoy this work!


	6. Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for this chapter! I write as the inspiration come to me, and unfortunately that meant it took a while! I hope you enjoy, this is a very emotional chapter for our boy Lucius!

It was as Lucius felt the flames build around him, and the screams of those close to him ringing in his ears, did Lucius feel fear for the first time.

 

Earlier~

 

It had been a few months since Lucius had begun his new normal. Everyday he found new things in his life, everyday he felt a little different than he had the last. Amanda was a big part of that, she seemed to almost have supernatural powers herself.

 

Jack and Amanda had started sharing Jack’s bed, both of them had sat Lucius down a few days after it had started and awkwardly told him that they were in a “relationship” and that he would understand more “when he was older.” Lucius didn’t think much of it, he had guessed that they were together the day he walked in on them kissing while making his breakfast. He stayed hidden until they finished, and then made his entrance to consume his slightly-burnt eggs.

 

Amazingly, Lucius began to feel… _comfortable._ Something he hadn’t felt since, since before everything he guessed. He found that he _liked_ going to school. He liked helping Amanda, he liked her reading to him when he was ready for bed. And she didn’t just do things for Lucius, she made Jack smile more than Lucius had ever seen in the man. Lucius thought the detective was sad by nature, but adding Amanda to their group had changed him. He now hummed while making breakfast, whistled while driving, and laughed genuinely when Lucius would look longingly at the fridge after finishing his milk. 

 

Altogether they made a strange grouping, but that didn’t mean it didn’t work. Ironically, Amanda had taken to calling Lucius her “little angel” whenever he would help her. Jack didn’t just refer to Lucius as “the kid” anymore. Now he called him by name, or called him buddy. There were even times when he would call him his “deputy,” which gave Lucius this warm feeling.

 

Lucius actually had “friends.” If you could call them that. Samantha Morgan and the green-shirted Freeman boy (who apparently had a new, Lawrence, but his family called him Lori) started sitting next to him in class a while after Mr. Freeman’s “untimely” death. Although Lucius still wasn’t talking yet, they became a band of misfits together. They all had terrible fathers, and somehow talking about it with each other had become something they could bond over. Lucius didn’t divulge his stories (if only they knew), but he listened to their tales and actually felt himself relating to what they were saying.

 

Lori’s brothers pinned a lot of the blame of the death of their father on him, a consequence Lucius had not foreseen. They rarely were around him, and at first Lori had come to their group to at least have people to sit with. Now, they all played together every once and a while. Lucius at first had felt himself disgusted by the idea of playing with other children, he was the son of Lucifer after all! But he found that part of him really liked playing, he had never had other people to play with before back at the mansion, and certainly not in the hospital. It became…fun.

 

It wasn’t long, however, before something had to give. And that started with the divorce proceedings for Amanda. 

 

When the case date had been set, Amanda and Jack were talking quietly about it in the kitchen that night. Lucius’s room wasn’t far, and since Amanda hadn’t come to read to him he had been curious. Listening to Amanda talk about the horrible things the doctor had been saying to and about her made Lucius feel like he was about to let out his flames. He wished he had killed the doctor before now, so this wouldn’t be happening. He decided, as Amanda finally came to read to him with a red face, that he would go to the proceedings with her. 

 

The morning of the case came, and both Amanda and Jack had given hum strange looks when he was standing next to the door, coat already on. After the shock, Amanda had just laughed and placed his hat on his head, ushering him out the door with them. The walk to the courthouse had been a quiet one, as the three made their way, all in their own heads. As Lucius followed to the side of Amanda, he looked up at her face. She seemed to be thinking hard, like she would whenever one of her students would ask an intricate question. Looking down, Lucius saw her hand at her side and stared.

 

A memory, small and fragmented, appeared in Lucius’s mind. The memory was from when he was much, much smaller. It was his mother’s hand, outreached toward him. He could even hear her voice, “Hold my hand, honey,” and felt a swell in his chest.

 

He outreached his hand, and grabbed Amanda’s, while stubbornly keeping his head down. He could feel the shock from Amanda’s hand, but she kept walking. Eventually her hand relaxed, and they walked together down to the courthouse. He felt like he maybe heard a small, gentle sound come from her, but he couldn’t be certain.

 

The courthouse was a rush of people and sounds. Quickly, they were sat at the table in front of the judge. Before everything started, Lucius took a chance to peek back at the people behind them sitting behind the bench. He fortunately found Sam and Lori, who waved at him. He didn’t wave back, but he did nod at them.

 

The proceedings began, the judge talking with the different lawyers and with their clients. Lucius didn’t understand most of it, but he could make out that Amanda was asking for half of the estate, whatever that meant. Both Amanda and Dr. Green spoke, and he could tell that the doctor was angry. After Amanda spoke about the cheating however, the judge quickly ruled in her favor. Amanda breathed a sigh of relief next to Lucius when the judge gave his verdict. Lucius was secretly glad that he hadn’t killed him.

 

They had to stay a while after, so most everyone had already left by the time they made their way out of the courthouse. Jack had to stay behind to do something, so he waved Lucius and Amanda on to go home. They were in the parking lot, Lucius walking beside Amanda when it happened.

 

Lucius heard footsteps running up behind them, quickly turning only to see the last few seconds of Amanda being thrown to the ground. Lucius couldn’t see everything fast enough, one second they were walking together and the next Lucius was looking down on Dr. Green, who was throwing punches at Amanda on the ground. He knew that the doctor was yelling something, and Amanda was definitely making noise as she tried to defend herself. Lucius was frozen, staring at what was happening without comprehending.

 

Suddenly Dr. Green was being ripped off of a beaten Amanda by Jack, who threw him on the ground a few feet away from them. He could hear yelling but it was all ringing in his head, he couldn’t take his eyes off Amanda’s bleeding, beaten face. Her lip was split open and pouring out blood, both eyes were already bruising. The same eyes that sparkled whenever he would point to things in his picture book. The same mouth that would laugh and call him an angel, all of that was destroyed on the ground in front of him.

 

Lucius didn’t even have to do anything, his flames exploded out of him like a volcano. He turned his eyes to the one who did this, the one who hurt her, the one who would PAY. Jack had been trying to restrain the man, but frantically let go when the flames consumed the doctor. There was screaming, but all Lucius saw was red. The burning of flesh filled the air, a stench that Lucius reveled in. This is what he was made for anyway, to kill, to hurt, to BURN.

 

Through everything, Lucius suddenly felt like he could hear something. Something was breaking through the ringing in his ears, piercing through the chaos.

 

“Lucius! Stop! LUCIUS!” Suddenly Lucius was jerked back to the present, to Jack in his face. He was shaking Lucius’s shoulders frantically, yelling in his face.

 

“Stop it Lucius! We don’t do this anymore! Just stop!” It took a moment for Lucius to register what he was saying, but as soon as he realized he pulled all of his flames back. Shaken, Lucius looked around.

 

The burnt remains of Dr. Green sat on the pavement a few feet away. The only thing that had yet to burn were some bones, mostly his skull and a few others. The smell of burnt meat was everywhere, clogging up his nose with the stench of death.

 

Amanda was exactly where she was at the start of all this, now sitting up but still on the ground next to Lucius. He met her horrified gaze, even through the bruises and cuts he could still see her terrified expression. Jack looked similar, but he had an edge of anger in his face.

 

“How could you do that Lucius! You can’t just burn people to death like this in broad daylight! We don’t do things like that anymore!” Jack was still shaking Lucius’s shoulders, still in his face.

 

A noise from Amanda had them both looking over. Her voice came out in a squeak, shaking entirely.

 

“What, what was…that? Did he just, oh my god!” Her voice and face both depicted her fright, piercing Lucius somewhere inside when he realized he had heard that voice before. 

 

Suddenly Lucius could hear and see it all. His mother’s frightened tone when she talked to him, his father screaming at him that he was the son of the devil. It all came back in a whirlwind, tearing Lucius up in its path.

 

Everything he had done, he had done to protect them. But what he had done was wrong, and now everything was ruined. Now Amanda would be scared of him like his mother was, now Jack would scream at him and try to kill him. He had let them down. He had let them down, again. He had done it, again.

All at once Lucius felt all of his emotions boil to a breaking point, and suddenly he was crouched on the ground letting out noises he never even knew he could make. He felt wetness all over his face, but he didn’t care. He blew everything out, letting it out onto his pants as he cried into his knees. He was going to stay like that until he could no longer feel the burning pain in his chest, and no longer smell the burnt remains of a Dr. Green.

 

It took a very long time, but eventually he felt hands and arms all around him. There was one rubbing his back, there was one in his hair. He could feel two solid presences on either side of him, touching him soothingly. Slowly, he could hear the sounds around him. There were calm tones, gently telling him it was okay. It may have taken an eternity, but finally Lucius felt he could move without falling apart. He raised his head slowly, looking around.

 

Dr. Green’s remains were gone, whether they burnt up and disappeared or were moved, Lucius didn’t know. Looking to his sides, he was greeted by the faces of Amanda and Jack. There didn’t speak while he took them in, but they both kept their hands rubbing his back and hair. Lucius sniffled several times, not knowing what to do.

 

They hated him know, right? They wanted him dead now, right? They would never smile or laugh with him again, so why were they still here with him?

 

He felt a light tapping on his side, where Amanda was sitting. Although she looked so beaten, she was smiling at him.

 

“Lucius, I’m sorry I reacted like that. It’s okay, we’re not mad at you. Actually…” and here she paused, looking to Jack. Apparently receiving her confirmation, she looked back down to Lucius.

 

“Jack told me a while back about you. Like about your lineage and your father, and about your powers. I was just surprised, is all. I didn’t mean to make you feel scared that I was upset with you, I know you did it because you wanted to defend me. It’s okay, you’re still my little angel.” With that said, she pulled his head towards her and placed a kiss on his forehead. She went back to patting his head, looking pointedly at Jack.

 

“Yeah, uh, I’m sorry about that buddy. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, that was uncalled for. You were like that because of what he did, right? I felt the same way, I wanted to kill that man.” Here, he laughed. “I’d of probably done the same thing if I was you. It didn’t scare me, I got used to it back during the Rapture. I just didn’t know what to do, but I handled it wrong, and I’m sorry.” He patted Lucius’s back once he was finished.

 

Lucius was lost. So, they didn’t hate him? Could he believe it? Was this his second chance?

 

They sat for a few moments, all just being close and feeling the moment. Eventually, Amanda let out a laugh and looked to the other two.

 

“Well, looks like he didn’t have to worry about me getting half of the estate. Looks like I’m getting the whole thing! And good riddance, that guy was an asshole!” Jack and Lucius were both stunned for a moment after she said this, but then Jack began to laugh.

 

They both laughed, and as Lucius listened to them, he felt something rising up inside of him. He felt his face move in ways it hadn't in a long, long time. His mouth opened slightly, and a light sound came out. And it came out again, and again, and again, until he felt light too.

 

Jack and Amanda both shocked at this, but then they began to continue. And there they sat, the three of them laughing on the ground together, letting the light from the sun shine on their happy moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always, let me know what you guys think!


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